Category Archive: Visas and Green Cards

Labor Certification, formally known as the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) system, is a method for a U.S. employer to get approval from the U.S. Department of Labor to hire a foreign worker in a permanent position. The approval, in turn, allows the foreign worker […]

Finding a job with an American employer is no different than it would be finding a job in your native country. However, being hired by an American employer is twice as difficult in most cases because many employers do not like hiring foreign workers if […]

Most immigrants obtain lawful permanent residency (green card) in the U.S. through their family relationship with a U.S. citizen or green card holder or through employment. In some cases, a noncitizen can obtain a green card by self-sponsorship, meaning they can obtain a green card […]

Being married to a U.S. citizen has many immigration benefits for noncitizens. One of the benefits is that a noncitizen married to a U.S. citizen is eligible to obtain an immigrant visa (Green Card) based on the marriage. Another benefit is the noncitizen does not […]

J-1 visas, also known as exchange visitor visas, are given to nonimmigrants who are coming to the United States as part of an officially approved exchange program in the arts, education, or sciences. The exchange program is intended to foster intellectual and cultural exchanges between […]

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) plays a critical role in most immigration applications. This agency also has offices across the country to host appointments, interviews, and other steps of the immigration process.  If you are in the Austin area, the two offices […]

Many applicants for U.S. immigrant benefits are surprised to find out they are “inadmissible” to enter or remain in the United States. Being inadmissible means, under U.S. immigration law, you have done something bad or have a condition for which you cannot be allowed to […]

If you have landed on this page, chances are you are a noncitizen engaged to a U.S. citizen or a U.S. citizen engaged to a noncitizen living outside the U.S. You could also be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident married to a noncitizen living […]

Coming to the United States requires a foreign national to either have a non-immigrant visa or an immigrant visa. Some immigrant visa holders go on to obtain a green card. There are many complicated rules that apply to get either of these types of visas […]

Difference between the L-1 Visa and the E-1/E-2 Visa Employers who hire a foreign-born worker who seeks to work in the United States must first secure a visa. There are various types of these employment-based visas, with the most common being H1, L1, and E1/E2 […]